familytreemagazine.com 29I have a confession to make: I’m
cheap. (Or, as I might argue, thrifty.) I bought
most of my wardrobe using an employee dis-
count from my college retail job, and I’ve been
known to drive 20 minutes to save 10 cents on
the gallon at fuel-point-friendly gas stations. My
bookshelf and YouTube subscription feeds are
quickly fi lling up with personal fi nance advice,
from Dave Ramsey to a vlog series called the
“Broke Millennial.”
But that thriftiness has helped me slim down
my monthly expenses—and saved me hundreds
in my genealogy research. Here are six of the
most eff ective tools that will help keep your
hard-earned money in your pocket.1
FIND FREE
GENEALOGY WEBSITES.
This is probably the most obvious
of the tips I’ll share here. But you
should take advantage of free resources before
requesting records from an archive or consulting
subscription or pay-per-view sites. Most of the
entries in this year’s 101 Best Websites list (page
18) are totally free, while others only require a
fee to access special or upgraded features.
FamilySearch.org <www.familysearch.org> is
the largest free genealogy website. Backed by
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
this site contains millions of searchable indexes
and record images. And soon, the site will host
nearly all the microfi lms the Church has collect-
ed in its decades of research. (We’ve got more
tips for using FamilySearch.org on page 48).
You can also access all of the Church’s
offl ine records (including books, microfi che
and microfi lm) for free by visiting the FamilyYoung or old, new or
veteran researcher, most
of us work with limited
resources. Stay under
budget with these tips.
by ANDREW KOCHHistory Library in Salt Lake City or your local
Family Histor y Center <www.familysearch.org/
locations>.
FamilySearch.org’s amazing genealogy wiki
<www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Main_Page> is
another great free resource, full of articles on
how to fi nd and use a host of genealogy records.
Don’t overlook government-run sites, either.
While you’re technically paying for them
through your taxes, resources such as the
Library of Congress <www.loc.gov> and the
National Archives and Records Administration
<www.nara.gov> are free to use and contain
thousands of historical documents and photos.2
LOOK FOR FREETRIAL
PERIODS AND FREE
COLLECTIONS.
Though subscription sites put the
bulk of their record collections behind a pay-
wall, most off er at least some content for free.
Search those collections individually or all at
once (such as on Ancestry.com <www.ancestry.
com/search/categories/freeindexacom>).
Sites also entice users by off ering free-trial
periods, which allow you to test-drive the ser-
vice before subscribing. Make sure you get the
most out of your free trial, which usually lasts
between one and four weeks.
Likewise, websites will sometimes open up
access to records collections for a few days or
for a week at a time. For example, subscrip-
tion site Fold3 <www.fold3.com> often allows
free access to its records in honor of Memorial
Day and Veterans Day. In a similar vein, Find-
mypast <www.findmypast.com> has (in recent
years) opened up its marriage records around
Valentine’s Day and its Irish records around
St. Patrick’s Day. Follow genealogy blogs and
websites such as Family Tree Magazine <www.
familytreemagazine.com> and Genealogy Bar-
gains <www.genealogybargains.com> to keep
up with the latest deals.
In addition, make sure the records you want
to consult on a subscription site aren’t already
free. Several frequently cited records collections
(such as US federal census records and New
York passenger lists) are available on many web-
sites, both free and subscription-based.
Conversely, make sure a subscription site has
record collections you’re interested in before
KR
ISA
NA
AN
TH
AR
ITH
/^ E
YEE
M^
/^ G
ET
TY^
IM
AG
ES